Key Facts

• Clause 16 aims to raise the profile and effectiveness of the Victims’ Commissioner.
• The clause requires the Victims' Commissioner to lay annual reports in Parliament.
• Departments and agencies must respond within 56 days to recommendations made by the commissioner in published reports.
• Clauses 17 to 20 introduce measures to enhance oversight of victims' treatment in criminal justice agencies.
• HM Inspectorate of Prisons oversees prison responsibilities towards victims.
• HM Inspectorate of Probation oversees the delivery of probation's responsibilities towards victims, including the victim contact scheme.
• Clause 21 simplifies the process for victims to escalate complaints directly to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.
• Victims may complain either personally or through a nominated representative such as a friend or relative.
• The PHSO can recommend actions like preventing future issues, issuing apologies, making payments, and reporting non-compliance to Parliament.
• The ombudsman, Rob Behrens, is praised for his work.
• There is a broad consensus within the Committee on the measure being discussed.
• The clause aims to make it easier for people to complain to the PHSO.
• The amendment is supported by the Domestic Abuse Commissioner Nicole Jacobs.
• In November last year, the Domestic Abuse Commissioner released a report titled “A Patchwork of Provision” highlighting discrepancies in domestic abuse services across England and Wales.
• Fewer than half of survivors were able to access community-based support they wanted; 35% found it easy or straightforward to access help.
• Over 70% of survivors who needed support for their children could not access it, only 7% received perpetrator intervention support.
• Only 23% of survivors needing work-related support and 27% seeking financial assistance were able to get it.
• JSNAs provide a comprehensive picture by drawing from data on social, demographic, and economic characteristics in an area.
• The amendment would require relevant authorities in police areas to conduct joint strategic needs assessments.
• These assessments would inform the strategy for commissioning victim support services.
• The Secretary of State is required to publish a statement every three years assessing current support for victims of domestic abuse.
• The Victims funding strategy was published last May.
• Clause 13(3) requires relevant authorities to have regard to any assessment of victims' needs when preparing their joint strategy.
• Subsection (1B) of amendment 89 would require the Secretary of State to provide a statement every three years on support available for domestic abuse victims.
• The proposed new clause would establish a duty for local authorities to commission specific support services.
• Services include counselling, legal advice, helplines, outreach initiatives, and more.
• The Secretary of State must define 'specialist community-based services' in collaboration with the violence against women and girls sector.
• The Bill risks having a good title but lacking substantive provisions for victims' support.
• Phillips has tabled an amendment to ensure that police and crime commissioners, local authorities, and health bodies must commission specialist women's community services.
• 70% of domestic abuse victims rely on community-based services currently available.
• Surviving Economic Abuse reports that 95% of domestic abuse victim-survivors experience economic abuse.
• 57% of women in prison and under community supervision are victims of domestic abuse.
• 63% of girls and young women aged 16 to 24 have experienced rape or domestic abuse in an intimate partner relationship.
• A study found an 82% reduction in physical abuse among participants in the Drive Project's perpetrator intervention programme.
• Only 7% of survivors who wanted their perpetrators to receive support were able to access it.
• There were 1.8 million stalking victims in 2022, but less than 1% received support from specialist stalking advocates.
• Amendments aim to place a duty on relevant local authorities to create specialist women’s community-based domestic abuse and sexual violence support services.
• Grants are provided by the Department to police and crime commissioners (PCCs) for commissioning practical, emotional, and therapeutic support services in their areas.
• The rape and sexual abuse support fund is nationally commissioned to fill gaps in provision.
• Government aims to set expected standards for commissioning victim support services.
• Clause 13(2) requires relevant authorities to consult with persons representing victims' interests and providers of specialist services.
• The Government published a revised strategic policing requirement in February 2023 focusing on violence against women and girls.
• £125 million has been awarded through the safer streets fund and safety of women at night fund.
• Up to £3.3 million is allocated for Domestic Abuse Matters training across police forces.
• Amendment 9 aims to include child victims in collaborative duty.
• Amendment 19 seeks to cover victims of fraud under the collaborative support services provision.
• Amendment 82 proposes extending support to victims of modern slavery.
• Amendment 9 seeks to extend the duty to collaborate to include victim support services for child victims.
• According to Victim Support, children and young people are disproportionately more likely to be victims of crime.
• UK Finance reports that over £1.2 billion was stolen through fraud in 2022.
• In the year ending December 2022, 3.7 million offences were reported to the crime survey for England and Wales, equating to 41% of total offences.
• The Centre for Social Justice supports the amendment to cover support services for modern slavery victims.
• Local authorities often lack clarity on their responsibilities towards supporting victims of modern slavery.
• In 2012, 2,629 people were jailed for fraud, but in the last year, this figure dropped to 1,177 despite an increase in offences from 441,000 to 3.7 million.
• Action Fraud often fails to provide adequate response or support to victims of fraud.
• The duty to collaborate requires local commissioning bodies to work together for support services for domestic abuse, sexual abuse, and serious violent crimes.
• £400 million over three years has been allocated to tackle economic crime including fraud.
• MAAF hubs should be rolled out across all England and Wales by September.
• Child victims are covered under the current definition of victim in part 1 of the Bill.
• Modern slavery victims can be captured by the duty if they have suffered conduct that constitutes domestic abuse, sexual abuse or other serious violent crimes.
• The definition of serious violence in the duty mirrors the approach taken from the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022.
• Independent child trafficking guardians have been rolled out to two thirds of local authorities in England and Wales by Barnardo’s until March 2024.
• Adult victims of modern slavery can access support through the national referral mechanism under the Government-funded modern slavery victim care contract delivered by the Salvation Army.